NGORA – Farmers in Ngora district have been trained in financial literacy as the harvesting season across the country draws closer.
About 20 groups comprising 30 members each, benefited from the training organised by Soroti Catholic Diocese Integrated Development Organisation [SOCADIDO] yesterday in Kobuin subcounty, Ngora district. SOCADIDO is a development arm of the Soroti Catholic Diocese.
According to Ben Okiror, the project coordinator SOCADIDO, they are promoting farming as a business so that farmers can be innovative and earn more money from their sweat.
Okiror in an interview with this reporter urged the farmers to handle their produce well so that it can attract potential buyers who offer better prices.
He also discouraged the farmers not to rush to sell their produce after harvest, saying they will be cheated by the middlemen who aim to get abnormal profits.
“Do not hurry to sell because prices are usually low at the beginning of harvesting season,” he said.
Mackay Otai, the Ngora district commercial officer, during the training, said farmers need to embrace commercial farming in order to fight poverty.
Otai applauded SOCADIDO for facilitating the training of farmers in financial literacy, saying the farmers will no longer be cheated by middlemen and other businesspeople.
He said once farmers are equipped with knowledge, they will be mindful of the market, and avoid early sales which do not give high returns.
“We are sure that the middlemen are coming to cheat farmers as harvesting season sets in but be very vigilant,” Otai advised the farmers.
Finally, he encouraged farmers to work together and draw their farm business plans so that they are able to track the progress of their business.
Sarah Kulume, a resident of Kobuin Sub-county noted that the knowledge she has received will guide her to succeed as a farmer.
She acknowledged that most of the farmers are cheated because they are poor and most times ignorant about prices and therefore have no bargaining power.
Most farmers in Teso Sub-region grew beans, maize, groundnuts, simsim, and soybeans among others in the first planting season of the year.
https://thecooperator.news/post-harvest-handling-still-setback-for-produce-business-middlemen/
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